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MASS
Students distinguish between weight and mass. They examine how in oscillations of a mass against an elastic spring--in the absence of gravity, or in horizontal motion--the length of the oscillation period is proportional to the square...
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THE MANY COLORS OF SUNLIGHT
Students examine rainbow components, spectral colors, colors perceived by the eye, hot solids, glowing rarefied gas, absorption, that light is a wave, and optics.
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The Universe
Learners describe what scientists mean by an "expanding universe" in their own words. They explain how scientists comprehend the universie is expanding. Students comprehend the vast scale of the universe. They comprehend how theory...
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Colonizing the Stars
Learners compare and contrast the size, composition and surface features of the nine planets of our solar system with the possible sizes and compositions of extra -solar planets.
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Our Solar System to Scale
Young scholars calculate the diameter of planets and their relative distances. In this space science lesson, students discover how small or big the planets are in comparison to each other. Young scholars use cross multiplying...
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Sundials
Students investigate the different types of sundials and their history. In this shadows and time of day lesson students build their own sundials.
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Comparing the Satellite and Broadcast Radio Landscapes
Learners research the development of satellite technology over the last 50 years students explain how the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the rules for corporate ownership of multiple media outlets.
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Four Seasons
First graders examine and describe the characteristics of the four seasons. Using a computer, they write one sentence about each of the four seasons and draws an illustration to accompany it. They present each drawing and sentence to the...
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Cosmic Rays
Students study cosmic rays and the energy behind them. In this atmospheric lesson students complete a cosmic ray telescope project.
Space Awareness
How Light Pollution Affects the Stars: Magnitude Readers
Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...
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Scale Model of the Solar System
Young scholars explore the size of the planets. In this science lesson, students create a scale model of the solar system. Young scholars determine a scaling factor and calculate the size of their planets. Students create a scale drawing...
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Asteroids
Students examine the different types of asteroids and how they enter the atmosphere. In this space lesson students use mashed potatoes to create an asteroid they can eat.
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Tides
Students discover how the position of the Sun, Moon and Earth affect tides. In this science lesson, students view a presentation about the tides. Students discuss the different types of tides.
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Your Weight on Other Planets
Young scholars explore their weight on other planets. In this science lesson, students view a presentation about the other planets and complete a worksheet in which they make predictions about their weight on the moon and other planets.
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Bringing the Solar System Down to Earth
Students develop a scaled down model of the solar system. In small groups, they calculate the scaled-down diameters of the planets and the sun, the scaled-down distance of the planets from the sun, complete two charts, and create a...
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The Phases of the Moon
Students sketch the different phases of the moon after exploring them on an internet program. In this moon phases lesson plan, students discuss how the Sun, Earth, and Moon are related.
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an Explorative Journey Through the Solar System
Students, in groups, research a planet from our solar system. They create Styrofoam models of the planets and place the planets on a correct distance scale from the sun.
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Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...
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Exploring the Planets
Sixth graders explore the planets through an interactive web site. In this astronomy based instructional activity, 6th graders compare planets, explore comets, and discover planet facts through a variety of activities provided by the...
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Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope
High schoolers construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.
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Please Ex-Planet
Seventh graders create a model of an earth centered solar system and a model of the sun centered solar system. As a class, they discuss why the earlier astronomers believed their model and why it changed when evidence arose that this...
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Our Intriguing Star, the Sun!
Explore the sun in a lesson plan about space. The lesson plan spans ten weeks, with students performing activities to answer weekly questions about the Sun and Earth.
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Paint By The Numbers
Learners, in groups, explore how astronomical spacecraft and computers create images of objects in space.
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No Edge, No Center -- Exploring the Shape of Our Universe
Students examine various "spaces" (including ones that are one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional). For each space, they will examine what it means to have or not have an edge, or to be finite or infinite.